Catalyst · 15 Jan 2026 · 46m
Nat Bullard, co-founder of Halcyon, joins host Shayle Kann to analyze data from his 2026 annual energy presentation, highlighting China’s rapid electrification and its strategic drive for energy sovereignty. Bullard details a severe supply shortage in gas turbines, where order books exceed production capacity by 30-40 gigawatts, driving capital costs for combined cycle plants to nearly double. The conversation also examines Texas’s exploding load interconnection queue, which has surged to 226 gigawatts, and the divergent, highly speculative load forecasts between ERCOT and transmission service providers regarding future electricity demand.
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Chris Gammell details his new 13kW solar and Tesla Powerwall 3 installation, discussing the economics of virtual power plants and peak pricing. Dave Jones analyzes Australia's energy market, highlighting negative wholesale prices and the high cost of peak power generation. The hosts also discuss the impact of new US tariffs on the global electronics supply chain and the challenges of designing with tiny 0.35mm pitch BGA components.
Drew Allen, CEO of Grace Technologies, argues that US manufacturing is falling behind China due to a lack of energy infrastructure and slow iteration cycles, citing China's addition of 278 gigawatts of solar capacity last year compared to the US's 49. He advocates for 'anti-fragile' factories that can handle supply shocks and teams that thrive on chaos, rather than just consistency. Allen also discusses the critical need for vertical integration, using Boom Supersonic as an example of rapid innovation, and critiques current tariff policies as counterproductive without sufficient domestic capacity.
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